Google Goes Middle Eastern with Ibn Battuta Doodle Tribute

Published February 26th, 2012 - 08:21 GMT

Google wished Moroccan explorer Ibn Battuta a Happy 707th Birthday with a Google Doodle; Has the "Friends of Syria" conference turned into a fiasco? ; Libya's frozen assets raise more than a few questions; Entrapment scandal- involving a sign; A Swiss Army Knife USB!

It's always great when a Middle Eastern historical figure gets global recognition in a mainstream way. In celebration of his 707th birthday, Google put up a Doodle honoring famed Moroccan explorer Ibn Battuta. If the illustrations are anything to go by, he looks good for his age.
"Showing across the Arab world on February 25th, the Doodle pays tribute to one of the greatest travellers of all time through various scenes from his adventures across Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and China."

Building on previous themes of Syria's standstill situation, here's another attempt for a Syrian "solution" gone bust. It seems that the "Friends of Syria" conference hasn't gotten very far in terms of resolving matters.
"This is Syria’s sad tale: yearlong meetings, conferences, solutions and plans while thousands of people get killed, wounded or detained. It’s the sad tale of a population under siege for a year with no letup."

This Libyan blogger is wondering how long this whole frozen asset issue will continue for. Is Libya to remain under the shadow of Qaddafi's undoing?
"My understanding is that the American victims of Qaddafi era terrorism have received their compensation why do they want more ? who are the other victims ? was this not settled? can people stop digging these old stories. Gaddafi is dead I don't think any new Libyan government should be held at the barrel of a gun of the crazy past."

Horribly written English-language signs are a dime-a-dozen in the Middle East. Although it is less of a staple in the UAE, that does not mean that badly written English-language signs are completely null. Here's an amusing use for the word Entrapment. You better watch out where you put those fingers.
"So, seeing the uniqueness of misspellings and odd writing was one of the wonderful things about Jordan. I had worried a bit that the UAE would prove less multitudinous opportunities to post silly things. Never fear."

You can imagine our joy when we saw this innovative little gizmo (God, that's an amazing word): A Swiss Army Knife USB Flash Drive! And you can also imagine our disappointed "Oh" when we saw its ridiculously steep price: $2,000. Yup, ladies and gentlemen, 2,000 American dollars for a fancy pants USB drive.
OK, fine, it can store a terabyte as well, hence the hefty price tag.